U.S. Naval Academy, Griffin Hall, Annapolis, Anne Arundel County, MD

Significance: Griffin Hall was built in 1917 as an extension to Isherwood Hall by Flagg's disciple Jules de Sibour who had become consulting architect to the Academy. Griffin is a skinny rectangle (56' x 181') connected at its center by a two story hyphen to the southwest elevation of Isherwood. Not only does the principal facade of Griffin, its long southwestern elevation along Parker Road, mimic Flagg's side elevations for Isherwood; it is probably that Sibour simply reused the materials and ornament from Isherwood's central bay on the southwest which the hyphen now obscures. This central bay as utilized on both buildings is distinguished by double wood doors at the first story level and a carved relief sculpture of the Academy seal in place of a window at the second story level surmounted by a gable like break in the cornice line. Griffin Hall has, of course, the same materials and scaling as Isherwood. As such it is compatible with Ernest Flagg's Beaux Arts classical style. It does not do anything however, for the axial symmetry of Flagg's Beaux Arts planning. It should be considered that Flagg was running out of room when he sited Isherwood so it is perhaps not surprising that Isherwood's extension was even more awkwardly placed. When the time came to expand again, the prospect of balancing Griffin with an addition to the opposite side of Isherwood was defeated by the shoreline of Dorsey Creek. As with all the buildings of the Isherwood Complex, Griffin Hall's non-architectural significance lies in its association with the technological education of American naval officers and the expanding science of ship propulsion. However no significant research or technological discoveries are known to have occurred in the building.
Survey number: HABS MD-329-9
Building/structure dates: 1917
Building/structure dates: 1953 Demolished
National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 66000386